Circus Of The Grand Design

by Robert Freeman Wexler

When a man named Lewis rents a vacation house on Long Island for a few days, he doesn't expect to end up on a crazy circus train ride to nowhere. His one night in the house, he burns it down. Then he meets charismatic Joseph Dillon, manager of the Circus of the Grand Design. Knowing he needs to leave the area in a hurry, Lewis agrees to join the circus as a publicist, despite Dillon's warning that he might not be able to return to the place he began. The circus's private train travels an infinite dream-loop to unknown lands, and Lewis becomes lost amongst crazy acrobats, sexy elephant riders, a magical mechanical horse, a giant woman and her savage, prehistoric rodent bears, an egotistical juggler and a fertility goddess who takes exceptional interest in him. The train, its residents and the places they visit form a complex puzzle that Lewis feels compelled to solve; this, then, is the Circus of the Grand Design.

316 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2006

About the author

For some writers, prose is a means of constructing an analogue of reality. For Robert Freeman Wexler, fiction is a means of de-constructing reality. Yet his stories have such a strong sense of linguistic integrity, it’s hard to believe that he isn’t reporting his experiences from a parallel universe. His fiction inhabits the place where the real world turns into oatmeal, where unexpected juxtapositions cause uncontrollable anxiety.

His books include novella, IN SPRINGDALE TOWN, from 2003, which was reprinted in THE BEST SHORT NOVELS OF 2004 (Science Fiction Book Club) and again in MODERN GREATS OF SCIENCE FICTION (iBooks). First novel, CIRCUS OF THE GRAND DESIGN (2004), THE PAINTING AND THE CITY (2009 and reprinted 2021), and short story collection UNDISCOVERED TERRITORIES (2021). New novel THE SILVERBERG BUSINESS is due out in spring 2022.

Reviews

[Lane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good prose and imagery, but made me realize that 'dream-like' is not always a positive description. Dreams are fun sometimes, but more often than not they end up frustrating and unfulfilling. I love me some surrealism, but I prefer when the surreal seems to conform to the causality of its own strange world rather than the shifting logic of a dream. A fine line I guess, so your mileage may vary.
Disappointing, considering that I liked the short stuff I've read by
Wexler, which to some extent contains that dream-ish quality. Works better in short form I guess.

[Gregor Xane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had some good set pieces and interesting ideas. But the narrative dragged quite a bit, and some of the transitions were a bit clunky.

[SteveRv · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story started out interesting but the slow meandering eventually caused me to loose interest and I skipped to the end. I feel disappointed that I just didn’t get what the author was trying to say.

[E.m.]

I hope this story is as strange as it promises!